As the Iraqis hunker down for an invasion, the U.S. Congress has voted to give President Bush the power to unilaterally attack Iraq. Just before the House took its roll call vote a protester cried out. Minutes later Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio tried to have the vote delayed by putting forward an amendment to send the resolution back to committee. Several Congress members including California’s Barbara Lee supported him. Kucinich’s amendment was defeated. The House then voted 296-133 to give President Bush the power to unilaterally invade Iraq.

Early Friday morning, the Senate voted 67-23 to back the Iraq war resolution. One of those who spoke up for the resolution, to some people’s surprise, was Hillary Rodham Clinton, despite the overwhelming number of calls from her constituents against war.

Leading the opposition in the Senate was Robert Byrd (D-WV) who threatened to stage a filibuster before the final vote. The delay tactic was struck down 75 to 25. Early Friday morning Byrd was joined by 22 other Senators, 20 Democrats, one Republican and one independent voting against the Iraq war resolution.

As the Bush administration gears up for another war with Iraq, we’ll take a look at how public relations has been used to sell wars to the American people. We conclude today’s show with an excerpt from the documentary Toxic Sludge Is Good For You–The Public Relations Industry Unspun produced by the Media Education Foundation.

DN! In Depth

By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan — The corporate television newscasts spend more and more time covering the increasingly disruptive, costly and at times deadly weather. But they consistently fail to make the link between extreme weather and climate change.